US DOJ plans to sue TikTok over children's privacy violations: Bloomberg News

WASHINGTON — The US Department of Justice is preparing to file a consumer protection lawsuit against ByteDance's TikTok later in 2024 on behalf of the Federal Trade Commission (FTC), Bloomberg News reported on June 20.

The department will not pursue allegations that TikTok misled US consumers about their data security in the forthcoming suit but will instead charge the company over children's privacy violations, the report said, citing people familiar with the decision.

It plans to drop one part of the complaint, which claims that TikTok deceived US consumers by failing to inform them that China-based employees of its parent company would have access to their personal and financial information, according to the report.

The Justice Department, FTC and TikTok did not immediately respond to Reuters' requests for comment.

Earlier this week, Reuters reported that the FTC had referred to the department a complaint against TikTok and its parent over potential violations of children's privacy.

Separately, TikTok and ByteDance on June 20 urged a US court to strike down a law they say will ban the popular short-video app in the United States on Jan 19, 2025.

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